Google Hunting paid links

[daniel]

Hey all

I have been thinking about google mentioning that they are identifying paid links and wondering how their algorythm would pick it up.

After having a poke around and a dig around google's guidelines and reporting tools, i have some thoughts, it would be good to get any more ideas on how google could possibly classify a link as paid.

1. Google will have to have a look at the theme on the page. It would then need to classify the anchor text of the links into a theme. If these themes are different ie: irrelevant, they there is a higher chance its paid.

2. As above, The algorythm will classify the anchor text into a theme and if these themes differ from one another ( 5 links, all different themes ) then there is a higher chance those links are paid.

3. The position of the links ie: footer links getting less weight that a normal link.

Any ideas on other factors !!!!

Daniel

[Glen]

Well heres my response to those points then my own

1. I disagree and dont think thats how it will be. If people are buying links they know they should be going for related sites

2. similar to above? not sure i understand the question

3. Footer links get less weight anyway, in regards to paid links im not sure it will make any difference regarding weight. If the links are known as paid google simply wont count them.

If a link is paid, theres no weight passed from that site from my understand if they are sure its paid. Listening to StrikePoint recently (WebmasterRadio) DaveN said he thinks he can buy a link on any site. If he could they you could just go to your rivals, buy a link and report them. Google created this issue for themselves

[Jocelyn]

Anything like a linkfarm is supposed to already be filtered... so irrelevant links are supposed to be out already.

Anything that is maybe exchanged, is also supposed to be out of the mix, or at least devaluated, as per the buzz on the forums... they are supposed to find 3 ways also.

So a paid link has to be a one way... not a 3 way... would most probably be on a relevant page... but would not be natural cause it's paid. So it would have to be something like, a popular site linking to a sucky one... cause it's usually the opposite. But still some huge site will post about sucky sites... but they usually do it all the time and the links don't stay on a high page very long.

Homepage linking is not something people do just cause they woke up and felt that the site was so great, it deserved a link from an homepage. Not many will pay to get a link on a deep page, most of these might be natural. Not every type of site will just link out of the blue to an other site...

Obviously if there is a mention of "Get listed for x$" or any other "get a link for $" equivalent text on the site, it would speak for itself. A list of winning flagged phrases must have been incorporated to find the culprits.

Could surely figure some other things they use...

[Paz]

Obviously if there is a mention of "Get listed for x$" or any other "get a link for $" equivalent text on the site, it would speak for itself.

Yeah I have to agree. Look at it from Google's point of view. How much are flags such as;

"PhP Link Directory" "Paid Links" "Sponsored Links" a give away? In fact it takes so much less CPU time/bandwidth to eliminate these than filtering out (A) links to (B) and (B) links back to (A),which they hit hard in 2004 - I'm wondering why they didn't flag these sort of paid links as unnatural years ago.

[Blazingpie]

I'm wondering why they didn't flag these sort of paid links as unnatural years ago.

Because having something like "PHP Link Directory" doesn't automatically mean that you are accepting paid links

[Chatmaster]

Links being changed and added to existing pages on a regular basis might also indicate paid links.

[Chatmaster]

Maybe just a guess, but I think these two threads might be related. http://forums.digital-m.co.za/showthread.php?t=1716

[claytonseo]

what exactly is a paid link?

im atm looking at a lot of web directories, some of them state that if you pay a small amount of money, your link can be featured and it will be reviewed faster than the free link submissions?

is this paid links?

[Paz]

Hi,

There were lots of people paying for, and accepting payments for links and that was the case long before Google hit the scene.

Google themselves aren't against paid links as such, rather don't like links that upset the democracy part of their ranking alogorithm, which relies heavily on a site's backlinks. Specifically they say they don't like links that pass Page Rank and that people should nofollow their advertising links to prevent them doing so.

Many directory owners (myself included) are using small payments to filter out spam applications. Strictly speaking these are paid links and I've seen directories that have had PR penalties but most have been OK.

Cheers,
Paz.

[newbie2010]

Good article here. What are the best places for adsense ads?

[motoaavtar]

In fact it takes so much less CPU time/bandwidth to eliminate these than filtering out (A) links to (B) and (B) links back to (A),which they hit hard in 2004 - I'm wondering why they didn't flag these sort of paid links as unnatural years ago.

[johnbecker112]

Anything that is maybe exchanged, is also supposed to be out of the mix, or at least devaluated, as per the buzz on the forums... they are supposed to find 3 ways also.